RESEARCH AT A GLANCE
As part of our effort to provide Illinois policymakers and citizens with reliable, unbiased, and easy-to-read information on a wide range of education topics, we have chosen to highlight a small body of high-quality, representative educational research, from both state and national organizations. Please note that the opinions expressed in the works below do not necessarily reflect the views and beliefs of Advance Illinois. The research included below is categorized into the following educational topics:
Increasing the Odds: How Good Policies Can Yield Better Teachers (2004)
National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ)
Grounded in the belief that well-conducted research should inform the education policy decisions of state governments and local school districts, Increasing the Odds provides a brief and readable summary of what recent research says about the attributes and qualifications of effective teachers. This booklet challenges some long-standing assumptions foundational to current state and district teacher policies, and identifies new attributes common to effective teachers. Missed Opportunities: How We Keep High-Quality Teachers Out of Urban Classrooms (2003)
Jessica Levin and Meredith Quinn
Using four anonymous Midwestern and Eastern US cities as case studies, this report debunks the myth that highly-qualified teacher candidates are simply not interested in teaching in hard-to-staff urban schools. In fact, the authors present data indicating that the best applicants for teaching positions, especially in high-need subjects, are simply not hired due to the district's late hiring process. Recommendations for changes in district vacancy notification policies, staffing rules in union contracts, and late education budgeting are also presented. For additional information on rules in union contracts, please refer to "Unintended Consequences" (2005) by Levin, Mulhern, and Schunck. Teaching Inequality: How Poor and Minority Students are Shortchanged on Teacher Quality (2006)
Education Trust
Between 2004 and 2006, the Joyce Foundation supported the efforts of Illinois, Wisconsin, and Ohio, and their largest urban school districts (Chicago, Milwaukee, and Cleveland respectively) in examining the statewide distributions of high-quality teachers. In every case and by every measurement, large differences appeared between the qualifications of teachers serving high-poverty and high-minority schools and teachers in schools with few low-income and minority students. This report summarizes the findings of this effort and presents both short- and long-term recommendations to address inequities in access to high-quality teachers. Identifying Effective Teachers Using Performance on the Job (2006)
The Hamilton Project at The Brookings Institution
Using data from the Los Angeles Unified School District and a variety of studies from other researchers, this Hamilton Project report offers a series of recommendations for state and Federal government. Their recommendations are based upon the findings that teacher certification, as it exists in many states, is a poor predictor of teaching performance as measured in value-added models. According to the report, a widening of state restrictions regarding teacher certification alongside a more robust value-added teacher evaluation system would help recruit and retain a diverse and talented teacher workforce at a relatively small price to the state. How the World's Best-Performing School Systems Come Out on Top (2007)
McKinsey & Company
This report, by McKinsey & Company and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), highlights the common denominators in some of the world's most successful school systems, as measured by international tests. According to the research in this study, the three things that contribute most to a school system's success, no matter the culture, are (1) "getting the right people to become teachers," (2) developing them into effective instructors," and (3) "ensuring that the system is able to deliver the best possible instruction for every child." Who Stays in Teaching and Why: A review of the literature on teacher retention (2005) National Retired Teachers Association (NRTA) and Harvard Graduate School of Education The authors of this report have reviewed and analyzed the broad body of existing research on teacher turnover and retention. Their purpose is to bring all available research to bear on some commonly asked questions about teacher mobility: What are the reasons and the impacts of teacher turnover? What are the impacts on the schools teachers leave? In this literature review, existing data is presented on the issues of teacher preparation, hiring, compensation, working conditions, school community, and career alongside research-based recommendations for education policymakers. Additionally, the authors identify areas in which more research is desperately needed. Is There Really a Teacher Shortage? (2003) Center for the Study of Teaching and Policy (CTP) This study, from the Center for the Study of Teaching and Policy (CTP), examines the assumption that there is a nationwide shortage of teachers due to increased student enrollment and rising teacher retirements. The data in this research, however, do not support this assumption. In fact, CTP shows that while high numbers of teachers are leaving the profession, equally high numbers of teachers move to different schools frequently, creating hiring difficulties in certain schools and long waiting lists in others. As suggested in this study, current local, state, and Federal recruitment strategies are like “pouring more water into the bucket” without first patching the holes at the bottom. Preparing School Principals: A National Perspective on Policy and Program Innovation (2003)
Institute for Education Leadership (IEL) & Illinois Education Research Council (IERC)
Preparing School Principals recognizes the powerful role that states play in determining who becomes a school principal and who does not. States play a vital role in the licensure, certification, and accreditation of principals, as well as in the training and professional development they receive. This report examines state policies relating to the school principalship from across the nation and highlights the most promising and innovative approaches implemented to date. For more information on preparing school principals in specifically rural areas, please refer to IEL's 2005 study, Preparing Leaders for Rural Schools. Education Leadership: A Bridge to School Reform (2007)
The Wallace Foundation
This report is a product of the Wallace Foundation's 2007 National Conference in New York, focused on the changing role of principals in education reform. Featured prominently are comments from M. Christine DeVita, President of the Wallace Foundation; Linda Darling-Hammond, Professor of Education at Stanford University; Kati Haycock, President of the Education Trust; and Richard Lee Colvin, Director of the Hechinger Institute on Education and the Media at Teachers College. Back to top Quality Data Systems
Anatomy of School System Improvement: Performance-Driven Practices in Urban School Districts (2005)
Lisa Petrides and Thad Nodine
This research, from New Schools Venture Fund, stresses the need for school systems to transform from compliance organizations into results-oriented systems. The authors outline various performance-driven strategies, as well as a series of benchmarks meant to guide the adoption of new practices. Another report by New Schools Venture Fund and the Center on Educational Governance at the University of Southern California, "Achieving with Data: How High-Performing School Systems Use Data to Improve Instruction for Elementary Students" stresses one component of results-oriented school systems: data-driven decision-making. By highlighting four model performance-driven school systems, this research identifies how these systems collect, analyze, and distribute different types of data to make improvements in the classroom. Getting the Evidence for Evidence-Based Initiatives: how the Midwest states use data systems to improve education processes and outcomes (2007)
Regional Educational Laboratory (REL) Midwest at Learning Point Associates
This report provides a point-in-time survey of state education data systems currently in use in the Midwest. In addition, Regional Educational Laboratory has compiled and laid out each state's current policies, priorities, and progress toward its development of a robust longitudinal education data system capable of informing policy decisions and strategic planning. For specific information on Florida, a state recognized for a well-established longitudinal education data system (called the Florida Education Data Warehouse (EDW)), please refer to "Data Quality Campaign's 2006 Florida case study." Additional information on longitudinal data systems can be found through Learning Point Associates, "State Education Systems that Increase Learning and Improve Accountability" (2004). 10 Essential Elements of State Education Longitudinal Data Systems (2008)
Data Quality Campaign
Data Quality Campaign (DQC) is an organization managed by the National Center for Educational Achievement and committed to assisting states' development of longitudinal education data systems to improve student achievement. In 2008, DQC conducted a follow-up survey of all 50 states and the District of Columbia to assess each state's ability to perform 10 "essential elements" key to longitudinal data systems. These elements, along with each state's survey responses, are explained in detail here. Additionally, DQC has published seven "Fundamentals in designing state P-12 longitudinal data systems." Back to top School Turnarounds
High-Poverty, High-Performing Schools
Many studies conducted of high-poverty urban schools follow a deficiency-based model, seeking to explain poor performance as a product of urban socioeconomic, political, and/or organizational barriers. While these analyses are valuable, they have led many people to "assume that there is an inextricable relationship between poverty, ethnicity, and academic achievement" (Reeves, 2000, p. 186). This assumption, however, does not allow for the existence of the many high-poverty, high-performance schools in cities across the nation. In the late 1990's, researcher Douglas Reeves performed a landmark study highlighting the commonalities of these high-poverty, high-performing schools, which he called "90/90/90 schools"—90 percent of students are eligible to receive free- or reduced-lunch, 90 percent of students are from ethnic minorities, and 90 percent are high-achieving academically. Subsequently, many similar studies have been conducted, including Glenn McGee's research on Illinois' "Golden Spike" schools—those that are successfully closing the achievement gap. Some of the common school characteristics identified by Reeves, McGee, and others are: - Narrow and sustained focus on literacy and mathematics
- Frequent use of student assessments and data to both track progress and inform goal-setting
- Strong school leadership and pervasive culture of high-expectations and professionalism
For more information on these studies, please refer to Douglas Reeves' "Accountability in Action" and Glenn McGee's "Closing the Achievement Gap Gaining Traction, Gaining Ground: How some high schools accelerate learning for struggling students (2005)
The Education Trust
This report, by the Education Trust, is a study into the practices of public high schools serving a primarily low-income and/or minority student body that are "accelerating learning for students who enter high school below grade level." The report examines the similarities and differences of specific high-impact schools in five topic areas: School Culture, Academic Core, Support, Teachers, and Time and Other Resources. Considering School Turnarounds: Market Research and Analysis (2007)
New Schools Venture Fund and Mass Insight Education and Research Institute
Considering School Turnarounds presents a market analysis of school turnaround options in six major U.S. cities: New York, L.A., Chicago, D.C., Oakland, and Philadelphia. Focusing on school management organizations (SMO), inclusive of charter companies and for-profit educational management organizations, this report examines the readiness of districts to engage in SMO-based solutions, as well as the quality of the provider markets in those cities. Back to top Standards, Assessments and College Readiness
Ready or Not: Creating a High School Diploma that Counts
The American Diploma Project (2004)
In this report, The American Diploma Project (ADP) describes how high school requirements are falling short of preparing students for post-secondary life. Ready or Not presents its own set of English and Mathematics benchmarks that high school graduates must be capable of meeting in order to succeed after high school. ADP urges federal, state, and local officials to gradually but significantly raise the demands of high school exit exams and create a "system of assessments and graduation requirements that—considered together—signify readiness for college and work." Closing the Expectations Gap: An annual 50 state progress report on the alignment of high school policies with the demands of college and careers
Achieve, Inc (2008)
Closing the Expectations Gap details state-by-state progress in the implementation of secondary school standards (i.e., expectations, exit requirements, assessment alignment, longitudinal data systems and accountability) that align high school requirements with the expectations of college faculty and employers. For more information on American Diploma Project's standards and state policy recommendations, please refer to "Aligning High School Graduation Requirements with the Real World: A Road Map for States." Back to top Parent and Community Involvement
Parent Involvement: Research Summary (2006)
National Middle School Association (NMSA)
This four-page primer from the National Middle School Association is a distillation of dozens of research studies on the relationship between parental involvement and student achievement. The research summary provides brief bullet points and citations referencing the key findings in this field over the past ten years. Parental Involvement and Student Achievement: A Meta-Analysis (2005)
William Jeynes & the Harvard Family Research Project
This web-based research summary outlines the research questions and findings of a review of more than 70 academic studies—which surveyed more than 300,000 students—on the relationship between parental involvement and student performance. Jeynes provides bullet-pointed findings for all age groups and ethnicities, and clearly answers detailed questions regarding the effect of parents on students' academic achievement. A Handbook for State Policy Leaders: Community Schools (2002)
The Coalition for Community Schools
This report makes the case for developing more "community schools"; schools that create intentional partnerships with parents, families, and communities to better provide a safe, rich, and engaging learning experience that extends to all parts of a student's life. Specifically, the Handbook outlines 16 ways in which state policy leaders can drive this change—from articulating a vision for community schools to making a sustained and focused investment on their development. School, Family, and Community Partnerships: Your Handbook for Action (2002)
National Network of Partnership Schools (NNPS) at Johns Hopkins University & Joyce Epstein et al.
Unlike the other research listed on this site, School, Family, and Community Partnerships is not available online. However, this book—written by Joyce Epstein, a leading researcher on parental and community involvement in education—provides a user-friendly guide for school, district, and state leaders in implementing school-community partnerships. Back to top Funding
The Funding Gap (2008)
Carmen G. Arroyo and Education Trust
This study provides a brief analysis of the trends in state funding disparities between 1999 and 2005. Specifically, The Funding Gap compares the resources available to school districts serving the highest percentages of low-income and minority students to the resources available to districts serving the lowest percentages of such students. According to the report, Illinois has the 2nd largest funding gap between poor and non-poor districts, and is one of 16 states that saw its funding gap increase over the examined time period. The Gap Persists: Closing Illinois' Achievement Divide (2005)
A+ Illinois
The Gap Persists, a brief report from A+, describes the parallels between Illinois' persistent racial and economic achievement gaps and the large disparities in school districts' education expenditures. This study suggests that school funding reform is critical to any significant progress in reducing inequality in Illinois schools. Back to top Other
Silent Epidemic: Perspectives of High School Dropouts (2006)
John Bridgeland, John DiIulio, Jr., Karen Burke Morison
This study presents the analysis of survey results from high school dropouts. It shows that most students who dropped out of high school report that they could have succeeded with more challenging coursework, more engaging classroom experiences, and increased access to extra help. Silent Epidemic provides a rare look into ineffective high schools from the perspective of the students they are failing. Back to top If you would like to suggest additional research and/or publications to be added to the ones above, please contact us.
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